05/05/2022
Insper has achieved the WELL Health-Safety certification issued by the New York-based International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). Insper is the first Brazilian institution in the education sector to earn the distinction.
Launched in 2014, the seal recognizes organizations that have a people-centered approach to sustainability. With that in mind, Insper acknowledges the adherence to standards of excellence in order to ensure the health, safety and well-being of all its members, especially in regard to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The WELL Health-Safety achievement also represents the success in responding to the challenge presented to the school. Thiago Otani, Insper’s property service and construction manager, said the team felt initially reluctant to adjust physical spaces: “When we developed the first version of the protocol, engagement and communication were both key to build trust, but as we were dealing with something very new there was a bit of uneasiness to organize the spaces in response to Covid-19”.
During the process, Insper had its safety protocols thoroughly assessed by a team of representatives from Public Health, Medicine, Architecture, Design, the Government and Academia, who examined 23 criteria to determine whether the care measures were according to the global standards defined by the IWBI.
The certification attests that Insper has invested substantially in adjusting its facilities and operations and that it has strived to raise people’s awareness of the best practices accepted on campus. In practical terms, the seal certifies that Insper:
Otani played a part in Insper’s application to earn the seal. According to him, the active research attitude was essential to outline first-rate safety parameters for the school: “We reviewed and created new protocols and procedures to prioritize the health of those coming into the buildings and looked up references to validate and expand our measures. We managed to increase control of the best practices we already had in place, such as air and water quality management. From now on, our challenge is to find out new strategies so that all the measures continue to be implemented after the end of the pandemic.”
Receiving the WELL Health-Safety rating is a reason to be proud. After the challenging months that led us to find new ways to proceed at the school, the recognition that the road taken by Insper so far has been the best possible one is a great satisfaction. The cooperation of everyone was surely key for this achievement.
